Monthly Archives: May 2007

FORE!

Dr. Z warns all leaders that if you have promised any employees that you would give raises or grant special requests once in a blue moon that it is a blue moon today. Plan to avoid the office, stay on the golf course all day, and if the cell phone rings throw it in the closest bunker.

Notice that the word “hen” is embedded in the middle of the word autHENtic. Even though hen makes up 1/3rd of authentic don’t be chicken about being who you are.

PracticeDr. Z’s5 Pathways to Authentic Leadership:

B.U. at work, all the time, with everyone you meet. Transform any lingering B.O. into a refreshed new self. Don’t become more like Jack Welsh strive to B.U. from the time you power up your Blackberry until you hug your schnauzer when you get home after a busy day of sitting in tepid meetings getting very little accomplished.

Some people make their marks while others sign their names. An authentic leader does not leave a trace. Make sure you don’t hit the send button on emails and avoid doing anything that can be traced back to you. Ensure all your orders are verbal and that your staff are not secretly recording your verbal directives for a 60 Minutes bad boss expose. When people don’t know what you’ve said or have no record of what you said, they can’t hold you accountable later on for being inauthentic.

When you are mad be mad when you are sad be sad. This is called being congruent. Although congruent sounds like something your would scrape off a plate of pizza that your teenager left under his bed for over 6 months it really means integrating your emotions fully into your expressions. Unlike six month old pizza, authentic leaders are neither cheesy nor crusty.

Cry on command. Say one of your staff members experiences a significant personal loss. Put your arm over their shoulder and console them with your real tears as you think about how their lowered productivity may reduce your year end bonus.

Model your career after the inspirational leadership style of Popeye. Popeye immortalized authenticity with his positive affirmation: “I y’am what I y’am and that’s all that I y’am.” Flex your muscles and devour spinach with your y’ams.

The road to leadership does not curve around the bend of authenticity. Dr. Z. reminds you, when it comes to being authentic: fake it til you make it.

Praise be leadership and leadership is about praising. Did this sound sarcastic? Learn to spot sarcastic praise before you say it or hear it.

Dr. Z has scoured the Internet for the latest resources on T-POP: The Power Of Praising. Dr. Z. has brought this You Tube video to you to unlock the secret of praising. This secret has been locked up tighter than the next Harry Potter novel. By the way the last word in the yet to be released novel is “scar.” So don’t be scared by praise in leadership.

Hang on to your hat!

Okay perhaps you are not Mr. Frumble who was always having his hat blow away in Richard Scarry books – but hang on to your hat anyway because you are in for a leadership ride like no other. This is no Segway to leadership this is the full wheel deal.

The picture for this post is from Flickr’s pool of creative commons’ hat pictures. It included the caption:

Who Needs “Leadership Challenge” When you have deadly colorful Samurai hat! Yarrrr.”

Dr. Z is up to the challenge — are you?

It is not a coincidence that this blog started on May 30th.

[Okay it is a coincidence — I wanted to start sooner but I followed Stephen Covey’s idea of first things first and rolled $26.00 in loose change, took it to the bank, and forgot about this exciting leadership blog for a week.]

But I am sure May 30th is significant if you’ll just give me a moment to look up this date in history I will be right back to tell you why this launch date is so significant.

Okay here it is:

May 30, 1431: After being captured by Burgundian troops and then handed over to English troops, French military leader Joan of Arc is burned as a heretic in Rouen, France.

So you see Dr. Z, like Joan of Arc is a leader. It may be 576 years after Joan was burned but feel the heat of Dr. Z the modern day fearless leadership heretic. The only thing that Dr. Z fears is Burgundian troops!

Be prepared for the full impact of Dr. Z’s LEADERSHIP LESSENS with ideas you can use to cruise right into six figure leadership.

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Dr. Z

No. Dr. Z. is not some reincarnate of Dr. Zhivago nor is he the much beloved Dr. Z. of the Chryler commercials.
Because of the fate of Joan of Arc and because of the constant threat of capture from Burgundian troops Dr. Z’s identity must remain anonymous, at least until his first book is published or someone is willing to pay him $50 to come and speak to a 4H-Club leadership jamboree.
Perhaps Dr. Z’s identify is superfluous, and don’t say that with your mouth full of dental implements.